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About Me

Hussam has been a lifelong human rights activist who is passionate about promoting democratic societies, in the US and worldwide, in which all people, including immigrants, workers, minorities, and the poor enjoy freedom, justice, economic justice, respect, and equality. Mr. Ayloush frequently lectures on Islam, media relations, civil rights, hate crimes and international affairs. He has consistently appeared in local, national, and international media.
Full biography at:
http://hussamayloush.blogspot.com/2006/08/biography-of-hussam-ayloush.html

Monday, May 31, 2010

While this new massacre is not the first in Israel's history and possibly not going to be the last, it still indicates a growing Israeli arrogance, carelessness, and disregard for the world's reaction or to the sanctity of the lives of those who disagree with its policies.

Unfortunately, this only indicates that we possibly are heading for a more brutal and a bloodier Israel. This is a scary though considering Israel's military might and nuclear capabilities.

To better understand the context of the Israeli killing of the humanitarian activists on the Flotilla boats, here are a few shorts articles and videos.

First, a short video on the goals behind the flotilla trip, by one of its organizers.

...The chorus has been singing songs of falsehood and lies. We are all in the chorus saying there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We are all part of the chorus claiming the occupation of Gaza has ended, and that the flotilla is a violent attack on Israeli sovereignty - the cement is for building bunkers and the convoy is being funded by the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood. The Israeli siege of Gaza will topple Hamas and free Gilad Shalit. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy, one of the most ridiculous of the propagandists, outdid himself when he unblinkingly proclaimed that the aid convoy headed toward Gaza was a violation of international law. Right. Exactly...-----

* Israeli soldiers invaded these ships in international waters, breaking international law, and, in killing civilians, committed a war crime. The counter-claim by Israeli commanders that their soldiers responded to an imminent “lynch” by civilians should be dismissed with the loud contempt it deserves...

* Israel has no right to control Gaza’s sea as its own territorial waters and to stop aid convoys arriving that way. In doing so, it proves that it is still in belligerent occupation of the enclave and its 1.5 million inhabitants. And if it is occupying Gaza, then under international law Israel is responsible for the welfare of the Strip’s inhabitants...-----

But it is a fact that it is ordinary people, activists, call them what you will, who now take decisions to change events. Our politicians are too spineless, too cowardly, to take decisions to save lives. Why is this? Why didn't we hear courageous words from Messrs Cameron and Clegg yesterday?-----

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) recently claimed that “all terrorists are Muslims or Middle Easterners between the ages 20 and 35.”

Michael Savage , host of the The Savage Nation, said, “Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists happen to be Muslim.”

Such claims were proven wrong, once again, when Huratee militia members were arrested late last month on charges to “levy war” against the US, and as America observed the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma city bombing last week.

Additionally, FBI statistics show that the vast majority of domestic terrorists are not Muslim.

So, media pundits, policymakers, and law enforcement – take note.

Terror perpetrators do not embody a single religion, nationality or ethnicity. They only embody an ideology of causing murder and mayhem to drive a political agenda.

Sadly, the ‘terrorist’ and ‘suspect’ labels the American Muslim community has been confronted with are neither new, nor rare.

What is rare, and often overlooked, is a perspective recently offered by a sheriff of national prominence. It might do America well to take another listen.

"Americans, particularly elected officials, should not claim Islam supports terrorism. This is counter-productive to trust. It plays into the terrorist strategy that the West is against Islam. At this time in our history, with billions of dollars being spent on a war against terror, our nation should ask that all Americans follow President Obama's example and be the instrument of goodwill to Muslims throughout the world.

“It is my belief that the average American has the potential to be our best ambassador of goodwill. However, senators, members of congress, governors, mayors, boards of supervisors, sheriffs, police chiefs, scholars, scientists, and laborers and their leaders must set the example with a desire to visit mosques and communicate with Muslims, worldwide, in the quest of better understanding Islam.”

This testimony, given before a Congressional hearing on homeland security last month captures the commitment of Sheriff Lee Baca of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to the nation’s security while also paying homage to the American values of equality and pluralism.

Moreover, his words follow diligent action in embracing American Muslims and addressing their concerns.

A great example is the local Muslim community organizations’ partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) called the Muslim American Homeland Security Congress (MAHSC). Through this forum, the sheriff’s department has engaged Muslims by addressing community issues, ranging from false arrests, to mosque vandalism, to cases involving Muslim women who wear the headscarf.

Such outreach efforts help foster goodwill and cooperation between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and help ensure that civil rights of Americans are not trampled.

American Muslims, for their part, have answered the call of duty by collaborating on efforts to protect the homeland and contribute to America.

Late last year in Virginia, families of five young Muslim men came forward after the men had disappeared under mysterious circumstances and left behind a ‘disturbing’ video. The Council on American-Islamic Relations assisted the families in quickly contacting the FBI – steps borne out of concern for the young men and to help protect innocent people.

Furthermore, several thousand Muslims serve in the Armed Forces. Many more keep America safe, healthy and informed by serving as police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, teachers and journalists.

However, when American Muslims are framed as suspects rather than partners, then the entire nation suffers.

For instance, the FBI - bucking its own statistical trend - has regularly used coercive tactics against Muslims.

Last October, FBI agents fatally shot a well-respected Imam 21 times in Dearborn after he allegedly shot at an FBI dog. The US Justice Department has now opened an investigation into the shooting incident, and the Michigan Attorney General’s office has assigned a special prosecutor to the case.

Early last year, Ahmed Niazi of Tustin, Calif., was arrested on immigration-related charges after he refused to become an FBI informant. Niazi helped catch a suspect who professed extremist views in an Irvine mosque but later was found to be an FBI provocateur.

In May 2009, four Muslim men were arrested in the Bronx in an alleged terrorism plot orchestrated by yet another FBI agent provocateur. One of the alleged perpetrators was mentally ill while another had an ailing brother whose needed liver transplant the provocateur had promised to pay for.

In sum, treating American Muslims as suspect and running the risk of alienating them is a mockery of our Constitutional values and wastes precious law enforcement dollars and resources needed to catch the bad guys.

The right move for pundits, policymakers and police officers is to follow Sheriff Baca’s lead, and embrace American Muslims as well as the values that make America a great nation

Monday, May 03, 2010

Like the members of the American Jewish lobby J Street, the people behind JCall don't believe that automatic support of Israeli policy serves Israel's true interests.

Haaretz Editorial, May 3, 2010

JCall, a new leftist European Jewish group, released over the weekend a petition signed by more than 3,000 Jews calling for an end to the occupation and Israeli expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The signatories, including important French philosophers Bernard-Henri Levy and Alain Finkielkraut, say the settlement policy undermines prospects for peace with the Palestinians based on a two-state solution. They express fear for the future of Israel as a Jewish, democratic and ethical state and are concerned by the global delegitimization campaign against Israel.

Like the members of the American Jewish lobby J Street, the people behind JCall don't believe that automatic support of Israeli policy - which advocates, for instance, Jewish construction in East Jerusalem - serves Israel's true interests...

The fact that thousands of Jews around the world, including prominent intellectuals, are advocating an end to nearly 43 years of malignant occupation is welcome news. Let's hope that the voices of Israel's friends in Paris, London and Brussels will be heard in Jerusalem.